Top Prospects Debut: Yankees vs. Red Sox Series Preview
GAME 1: Masahiro Tanaka (7-4 3.80
ERA) vs. Henry Owens (0-0 0.00 ERA)
First pitch: 7:05 PM ET on YES,
NESN, and MLB Network
Game
one will feature Yankee ace Masahiro Tanaka vs. Red Sox #5 overall prospect
Henry Owens. Owens, formerly the Red Sox top overall prospect entering 2014 now
sits as the team’s fifth best prospect and #48 overall according to MLB.com. at
6’6” Owens was drafted in a loaded 2011 draft class for the Red Sox and has
enjoyed a lot of success in the minor leagues. Owens has struggled from a
win-loss standpoint in the minors this year going 3-8 but he has a very good
ERA of 3.16 in 21 starts. On the flipside, Tanaka looks to regain his
confidence against a slumping Red Sox team. This should be a highly anticipated
game for both sides (possibly more so for the Sox) and on paper, this may be
the best game we see all series, so lookout for a potential pitcher’s duel to
open up the series.
GAME 2: Luis Severino (0-0 0.00
ERA) vs. Steven Wright (4-4 4.53 ERA)
First pitch: 7:05 PM ET on YES,
NESN, and ESPN
Game
two, without a doubt is one of the top three most highly anticipated Yankee
games for Yankee fans to this point and it has everything to do with Yankee top
prospect, Luis Severino toeing the rubber for his first career start. Severino
has rapidly emerged as a top prospect being ranked #16 overall by MLB.com as he
has dominated in the minor leagues. Since being called up to triple-A, Severino
is 7-0 with an ERA of 1.91 in 11 starts. Severino is the most highly-touted
pitching prospect to come out of the Yankee farm system since the long
forgotten Joba Chamberlain. Look for Severino to live up to the hype and bring
his best start as he’s thrown into the heat of battle against the rivals on
Yawkee Way. Opposing Severino will be knuckleballer Steven Wright as he looks
to spoil Severino’s debut. As a right-hander, look for recently acquired Dustin
Ackley to make his first start as a Yankee in this game. If Severino brings his
best stuff, there’s no reason the Yankee offense doesn’t back him up against
Wright.
GAME 3: CC Sabathia
(4-8 5.54 ERA) vs. Eduardo Rodriguez (6-3 4.34 ERA)
First pitch: 7:05 PM ET on YES,
NESN, and MLB Network
Game
three is an offensive outburst waiting to happen, for both sides. CC Sabathia
has been dreadful this year and although he started hot, Eduardo Rodriguez hasn’t
been very good for the Red Sox, either. Rodriguez had a really good outing the
first time he faced the Yankees going 6.2 innings allowing just 2 earned runs
but I expect the Yankee offense to be in full swing knowing they’ll have to
back up Sabathia. Inversely, the Red Sox bats will definitely feel a sense of
urgency at the plate knowing their facing a pitcher in CC Sabathia with
absolutely no confidence in getting hitters out at this point. If you like
high-scoring affairs, game three will a great game for you to watch.
Four players to watch for each
team:
Yankees
1. Mark Teixeira
Mark Teixeira was the Yankees hottest hitter in July
hitting .333 with 9 home runs and 19 RBIs. He followed that up with a home run
on the second day of August marking his fifth home run in four games (pun
unintended). The hot hitting Teixeira has quickly emerged as a dark-horse MVP
candidate to a full-force, legitimate MVP candidate. I look for him to make his
mark in this series as he typically does (please forgive my cheesiness but the pun
intended that time).
2. Didi Gregorius
Another scorching hot hitter for the Yankees is,
yes, Didi Gregorius! The Yankee shortstop is finally finding his stroke at the
plate as he hit .317 in July. Gregorius lacks a signature “Yankee moment” to
this point in the season so he’s got a great chance to solidify himself amongst
the Yankee faithful during this series.
3. Luis Severino
Let’s be honest, we’ve all cleared our calendars
Wednesday night so we can sit down and watch Luis Severino make his major
league debut. At just 21, I must say that this debut has come sooner than I initially
expect, but that only adds to the anticipation of it. Look for Severino to
thrive in pinstripes under the lights against the Yankees most hated rival.
4. Alex Rodriguez
Alex Rodriguez (no, I will no longer call him “A-Rod”
after his humble comments with the Baseball
Tonight crew) might’ve been overshadowed by the month that Tex had but he
too hit 9 home runs in July. The Yankee slugger has a prestigious past with the
Red Sox and I look for him to fead off the abundance of lefty pitchers the Red
Sox will throw the Yankees’ way.
Red
Sox
1. Xander Bogaerts
Ah, yes, Xander Bogaerts, the All-Star snub, or as I
like to say, the lone Red Sox player deserving of an All-Star appearance. In a
down year for the Sox, Bogaerts has shined hitting .319 with 51 RBIs at the top
of the lineup. It appears that Bogaerts is reaching his potential and I look
for him to be a thorn in Yankee pitchers’ side during this series.
2. Travis Shaw
Travis Shaw has only played 11 games in a Red Sox
uniform but he has burst onto the scene with the team. Since being recalled on
August 1st in his third stint with the club this year, Shaw nearly
hit for the cycle on Aug. 1 (he was a triple shy with 2 home runs) and another
solid game Aug. 2. After a dreadful 0-9 start to his Red Sox career, Shaw was
sent down, before being recalled, sent back down and recalled once again. Now, I
may be getting ahead of myself by telling you to look out for him, but as a hot
hitter, anything can happen and he fits the mold of a “Yankee
killer.”
3. Henry Owens
As stated earlier, this series will be unlike most
other Yankees vs. Red Sox series’ with both teams having highly-touted pitching
prospects toe the rubber in separate games. As much as I wish Owens was facing
off against Severino because, let’s face it, that would be awesome, having
these prospects pitch on back to back nights only amplifies the excitement surrounding
an already intriguing series. I look for Owens to have a solid debut as he’s
thrown into the line of fire that is the Bronx Bombers.
4. David Ortiz
The reality is, every time there is a Yankees vs.
Red Sox series, you’re always looking out for David Ortiz. He is the prototype
of a Yankee killer. Ortiz seems to always knock the big hit, especially against
the Yankees so you were probably already looking out for him to make his presence
felt but if not, I’m issuing you a fair warning now.
Obviously,
every series is big but series’ in August, September and October typically have
a lot more riding on them and this one is no different. The Yankees are 8-0-1
in their last 9 series’ while the Red Sox are 5-4 in their last 9 series’. The top
pitching prospects pitching on back to back nights for opposite sides brings
the anticipation of this series to an extreme high and I encourage you to watch
and enjoy this series as much as I will. As a prediction, I expect the Yankees
to take game one in a close game and take game two fairly handily. However, I expect
the Yankees’ efforts for a sweep to come up short in game three but the Yankees
will still take two of three from the Red Sox.
Article
By: Chad Raines
Follow
me on twitter @Chad_Rain
Follow
the blog on twitter @BronxBomberBlog
Comments
Post a Comment